BP To Give Macondo Oil Revenue To Wildlife Group, Not New Fund

22nd Jun 2010 19:51

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) said Tuesday it would donate its net revenue gleaned from oil collected at its broken well in the Gulf of Mexico to a pre-existing wildlife foundation, changing tack from two weeks ago. Earlier this month, BP said it would put money from the sales of oil it recovers at the Macondo well--the one spilling oil into the Gulf--to a wildlife fund of its own creation. The company on Tuesday announced fresh plans, saying it would donate the money instead to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a nonprofit created by Congress in 1984 that works to preserve and restore native U.S. wildlife species and habitats. BP spokesman Mark Salt said donating to the foundation was the best choice for the company. It noted in a statement that donations to the foundation would "bring the greatest benefit to the wildlife of the affected Gulf Coast states." Earlier Tuesday, the company said it collected 25,830 barrels of oil during the previous day's oil-recovery work, 40% of which was flared. Front-month light crude oil recently traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange for $77.22 a barrel. BP will make a $5 million immediate donation even as initially collected oil on a vessel above the broken well begins to be refined. As a responsible party, BP is required already to pay for cleanup of the spill. The donations to the foundation are additional. BP's American depositary shares were down 2.4% at $29.60 in recent trading. They have fallen 50% since the spill began. -By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 14:51 ET (18:51 GMT)